The Philosophy of the Moral Feelings

John Abercrombie, an eminent Edinburgh physician, turned from the study of the body to the study of conscience in this treatise on the moral nature of the mind. Published in 1833 as a companion to his earlier work on the intellectual powers, it examines the feelings, desires, and affections that shape human conduct, and the principles that ought to govern our choices as responsible beings. Abercrombie sorts the moral emotions into an orderly scheme, weighs the relation between reason and feeling, and argues that a well-ordered mind unites both toward moral improvement, in harmony with religious belief. Written in plain, accessible prose, the book ran through many editions and long served as a school and college text. It opens a window onto early nineteenth-century moral thought and the psychology of its day.